Chelsea's Mudryk faces FA charge over failed drugs test

Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been formally charged by the Football Association (FA) with an anti-doping rule violation following an adverse result in a routine urine test.

The 24-year-old Ukraine international was provisionally suspended in December after a banned substance was detected in his system. Since 28 November, Mudryk has not played another competitive match for Chelsea.

At the time, the player expressed his surprise and said he was in "complete shock", saying he had "never knowingly used any banned substances".

In a further statement issued on Wednesday, the FA said: "We can confirm that Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged with Anti-Doping Rule Violations alleging the presence and/or use of a prohibited substance, in terms of Regulations 3 and 4 of The FA's Anti-Doping Regulations. As this is an ongoing case, we are not in a position to comment further at this time."

The investigation is still ongoing and, at this stage, no further details about the substance detected or the disciplinary process have been disclosed. Chelsea, for their part, have not commented publicly on their player's situation.